Picking up the Pieces
by Frodosarrow
Summary: Final part of Blue Eyed Vampire Jera has started over. She now works with the Volturi. Ick...bad review, whatever :P
1. Chapter 1

**So here's the final installment. This one will be good. I promise.**

I concentrated as hard as I could. My eyes narrowed in concentration. It was tense. This could go either way. It seemed like forever, but really couldn't have been going on for more than a couple of hours. And then, he gave me a goofy smile. I cracked up and looked away. I had lost the staring contest.

"Honestly," he said, kissing me on the cheek. "You are so easy to defeat."

"Hey," I snapped. "I could've won so easily if we were allowed to use our powers."

Luke folded his arms over his chest. "Then you would have won in the first minute. However, I just did it the good old fashioned way. You lasted longer than normal. How many different looks did I have to give you this time?"

"Twenty-three," I replied, having kept perfect track. He smiled gingerly at me and swept me up in his arms like I was as light as a feather. I giggled happily.

I had definitely underestimated this place.

It had been about a year since I had joined the Volturi. And in that year, I had risen through the ranks. Aro was planning on giving me my own special unit for more exciting tasks. I was up for it. It sounded like fun.

Also, in that time I had found my mate. It wasn't some stinky old dog like the last one. This time it was a clean, handsome, charming, lethal, wonderful, (I could continue with this for days) vampire. Luke was everything that Jacob wasn't. I still shuddered at the sound of that name.

For the most part, I had blocked out my time since I had come to live with the Cullen's. Mainly, just the memories of Jacob though. I still had plenty of fond ones of the others though. My time in La Push was pretty hidden. However, no matter how much I tried to forget, I couldn't forget how I had been hurt.

I still respected the Cullen's and my own family, keeping in touch with all of them. We had even visited each other at times. I no longer understood the reason for the "vegetarian" life style. Hey, it worked for me for a while. I guess that they could just tolerate it more, or something.

Luke was supposed to be apart of my team. However, there only was one other recruit so far –Connor, his powers match his hothead (very nice for cleanups though). This meant that we had time to just goof off. Staring contests were a good way to do that.

We sat down, currently having decided on playing Monopoly. Connor lounged on a couch behind us. He snickered silently. Jane walked in, sullen as ever.

"Do you want to play?" I asked. She looked at me, then at the board, and then back at me. In response, she sniffed her nose and kept walking. I really missed Gabe sometimes.

"I second that motion," Connor called in his Irish accent. Luke playfully shot a small lightening bolt at him. It obviously didn't hurt him, but he lightly growled at Luke.

"Jera, watch your boyfriend," he snarled at me. I rolled my eyes at his pissy attitude.

Jane strolled back into the room. She gruffly handed me and envelope and left. I checked the address. It was from the Cullen's. I smiled to myself.

"Ugh," Connor scoffed. "How come I don't get any mail?"

"Because nobody loves you," Luke snickered.

I briskly opened the letter. It surprised me not to find a letter, but an invitation. An invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding to be specific. I squealed happily at the news. A few seconds later I had Alice on the phone, letting her know that I would be attending the ceremony.

"At last," I told her. "So I'm betting you're having a lot of fun with planning this?" I asked as I admired her elegant invitation.

She sighed. "I am! So is Rose. I just wish that you were here to help plan this all too."

"Me too, but I can't just leave. I haven't even told Aro about the wedding yet."

"He'll let you go," she replied without me asking.

I smiled. "Good."

"Plus one?" she asked. I turned towards Luke and held up the invitation. He rolled his eyes but nodded. What a typical guy.

"Yes."

"Okay, so I'll have the dress sent over for you to try on. I'm absolutely positive it will fit; however, I don't want to take any chances. You are going to absolutely adore these dresses. They were picked out by me, so of course they're gorgeous!"

Alice had lost me. "What dress?"

"The bride's maid dress."

"I'm a bride's maid?"

"Of course, Jer! If it weren't for you, Bella would be in a totally different situation. Come on you two have been friends for years. You are basically apart of the Cullen family. Well," Alice continued to chatter. "I'll talk to you later."

"Remember to tell them congratulations on finally getting their wedding off the ground," I snuck in before she hung up.

There was a groan from behind me. "Do I really have to go?" Luke asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Yes."

"But I'll have to get dressed up."

"You look nice in at suit."

"I'll have to put contacts in so I don't scare the guests…"

"Then you'll do that."

"I'll be stuck in a room full of humans."

"There won't be that many humans," I snapped. Growing weary of him trying to wriggle out of this, I kissed him lightly. "You'll get a special treat," I told him.

He was now intrigued. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "What kind of treat?"

"It's a secret," I said with a giggle.

Connor made gagging noises. "Why did I have to be put under _your_ leadership?"

"Zip it," I commanded him. Helping that process along, I closed his mouth for him. I turned my attention back to Luke. "So you'll go?" I asked, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

He sighed again. "Fine."

I smiled at him happily. However, inside I was feeling so envious of Bella. I had already had one botched engagement. And no matter how much Luke loved me, he was not the type to get married. Besides, it wasn't really common around here for vampires to do so. It would appear that I would never get married.


	2. Chapter 2

"You sent for me?" I asked as I stepped into Aro's luxurious study. My cool voice echoed throughout the room. 

His blood-red eyes studied me for a moment. "Yes, Jera, I did. As you have already been informed, you are to have your own team of vampires for let's say different kinds of assignments." I nodded my head. What was he getting at? "Well, we have finally found a fourth person to complete your team."

My ears perked up at this information. This was exciting; I'd have more stuff to do now besides sitting around all day playing silly games. I was also glad that I would have a small team. Too many people just slowed me down. "Who would that be?"

"Her name is Rita. She's a shape-shifter. I think you'll find her easier to get along with than Connor." We both smirked at this.

"That's wonderful. Thank you. When will I meet her?" There was a quite knock at the door. I lifted an eyebrow, impressed by the timing.

"Come in," Aro told our visitor. Turning around, I watched as one of the grand wooden doors opened. "Jera, this is Rita. Rita, Jera," he introduced us. I studied the brunette. Her hair color reminded me of Bella's. However, hers was stick-straight and fell just below her shoulders. I noted that her eyes were green. Being a shape-shifter, I assumed she changed her appearance often.

She held out a hand. I took it. Smiling devilishly, she said, "I believe you'll find me quite capable."

I matched her smile, wanting to have fun. "Panther," I instructed. Her form quickly slickened into that of the cat I asked for. "Emu." She quickly turned into the quirky bird. "Grizzly bear." I couldn't help but think of Emmett as she changed into the lumbering bear. "Me." I soon found myself looking at a replica of me. "Impressive," I said, finalizing her position on my team.

Rita returned to her normal state. "Thanks." She then flashed me a cheesy grin. Aro was right. She was _much_ more amiable than Connor. Then again, a baby chimp with a rash was more agreeable than him.

"You two may leave now," he told us. "Introduce her to the rest of your team, Jera." I nodded as we briskly exited his study. The only noise was the clicking of Rita's stilettos against the stone floor.

We both exhaled, deeply once outside the presence of Aro. He had the air about him that didn't make me feel comfortable enough to even breathe. "Can you not wear those?" I asked, pointing to her shoes. They quickly turned into a pair of flats. "Thanks," I told her. "It's just kind of weird to hear people walking. I'm not used to it anymore."

She bobbed her head up and down. "I know what you mean. This place is sometimes so quiet."

I laughed. "It's _always_ quiet." I led her to the room where Connor, Luke, and I always hung out. The two boys were sitting there, flicking fire and lightening at the stone wall. "We have a new member," I announced. Both their heads whipped towards me and Rita. "This is Rita. She's a shape-shifter. I think you boys are old enough to introduce yourselves," I said as I went over to lounge on the leather couch.

"I'm Luke. I like lightening," he said, making a small bolt pop out of his hand. I rolled my eyes at his childish introduction. He probably had done that just to spite me.

"Connor's the name. Fire's my specialty."

Rita giggled and joined me on the couch. "Nice to meet you guys. Where are you from?"

"America," Luke and I responded simultaneously.

"Dublin," Connor said, proudly.

"Nice, I'm from Germany."

"That explains the accent," I said to her.

She covered her mouth and giggled. "Is it _that_ noticeable?"

I shook my head. "But I do believe Rita's not a very common German name," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I probably was adopted or something." Rita waved the notion away. "Not like it really matters." She paused for a moment, looking around the room. "What do you guys do for fun around here?"

Connor frowned and wrinkled his nose. "Absolutely bloody nothing."

I shrugged. "He's actually right." I smiled though. "However, with you around now, we'll probably get to do something."

"Like what?" she asked excitedly.

"Missions. Fun stuff like that."

Rita changed her hair into a spiky pixie cut, turning the color red. "Sounds good. I haven't had fun in ages."

"I'd be surprised if they could find something interesting for us to do," Connor snorted.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You are disagreeable, aren't you?"

He smile and nodded. "You've got that right, birdie."

Crinkling her nose, she responded, "Don't call me that."

I slapped my forehead. Now that he knew that bugged her, Connor would be calling her that constantly, like the way he called me Captain from time to time. Luke was suddenly nuzzling my neck. "Relax," he murmured to me. "She'll figure out everything soon enough." I inhaled his sweet scent and relaxed a little.

Rita was studying us curiously. "Mates?" she asked Connor.

"Unfortunately," he responded.

Frowning, I knocked him off the chair he was sitting on. She giggled at the site. "Are you like a telepath?"

"Telekinetic," I corrected. "I used to be a telepath."

She cocked her head to the side. "Used to?"

I nodded my head. "It's really hard to explain, and really, I don't have an answer for how or why."

"And your eyes are blue…because?"

I snickered at the interrogation I have received many times. "Once again it's a mystery."

"She's very mysterious," Luke inform her. He kissed me on the cheek. "That's one of the reasons why I love her."

Rita sighed at us. "I want to find my mate," she said dreamily.

"Cheer up," Connor suggested. "You've got whole fucking eternity to find that special one. Isn't that just chipper?"

"Bitter," I muttered under my breath in response to his little speech.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, my bride's maid dress arrived. Rita and I happily tore open the package to view what I knew would be a lovely –and expensive- dress. I was not disappointed. I pulled out a beautiful rose colored dress. 

My fingers lightly glided over the fine satin it was made of. Rita stood open-mouthed next to me. "Try it on!" she urged me.

In a matter of seconds, I was back. The floor-length dress obviously fit perfectly. The bodice fit to my curves nicely. It had a halter and a v-neck that exposed just enough to get guys thinking. Where the neckline finished, the fabric was cinched and decorated elegantly with a diamond brooch. The entire ensemble was beautiful, but a little excessive for a small wedding. But, that was Alice for you.

I could only imagine how exquisite Bella's dress would be.

"Oh my gosh!" Rita squealed. "You look amazing!"

I flashed her a smile. "Alice knows my size very well."

She ran up to me and took my hands. "Jera…" she started slowly, her now violet eyes wide with hope. "Will you please, please, _please_ take me?"

Blinking, I thought about it for a moment. I could feel her hope fading. There was so much to consider though. No doubt Charlie was going to be there. Who knew? Bella's mother probably would show as well. "Do you have good self-control?" I asked her.

Rita nodded her head vigorously. "Of course I do!" A huge smile grew on her face. "So I can go then?" I nodded, and she clapped her hands giddily.

---

"What?!" Connor cried when I told him that Rita would be coming with me and Luke to America for the wedding. "You're going to leave me here all alone to rot? I know I'm not your favorite person, but do you honestly have to be that rude?"

I tried to hold back a snicker. I knew this would be his reaction. I also knew that I would be taking him with us. I'm pretty sure Connor has abandonment issues. It was fun to watch him squirm for little bit before telling him that he would be coming.

"I don't know…you never behave."

"Yes, I can!" he protested angrily. "You just never give me a chance!" his voice grew into a yell.

He was making this too easy. "See what I mean?" I said with a satisfied smile. "You're throwing a fit right now. How can you be expected to behave around humans?"

Connor growled at me. This was just too easy. "You've been on missions with me before! I've never created any trouble!" I could see literal steam rising from him now. I decided it was time to end this game. I had had my fill of amusement.

"Well…" I said slowly. "I guess you're right. I mean, I did choose you to be on this team. I guess you can go. But don't mess up," I added with a harsh tone.

He nodded, gratefully. "I promise; I'll be good."

"Don't mess it up," I added again. It wasn't that I didn't trust Connor. It was just his temper. I didn't want something to come up and for him to go into a rage and kill the minister and Bella's parents.

Sighing, I opened my phone and dialed in Alice's number. "Hey," I said when she picked up.

"So it's plus three, now?" she asked, already knowing.

"Yup."

"And the dress?"

"Fits like a glove," I assured her, although she already knew that too.

"Good," Alice said, sounding satisfied. "I'll see you in a week, then."

I raised an eyebrow, surprised. "It's that soon?"

"Uh huh."

"Whoa."

"Yeah, I know. Crazy isn't? It's been such a long ride."

"Tell me about it," I muttered bitterly. It was silent for a moment. We both knew what I was talking about. "I'll see you then. I trust that everything will be perfect."

"Only for our little Eddie," she replied with a giggle.

"I told you not to call me that!" I heard Edward shout in the background.

I laughed at this, feeling slightly homesick for a moment. "Tell everyone I say hi."

"You bet."

"See you soon, Alice."

"Bye, Jer."

I hung up the phone and sighed. Connor had already left the room. I bet he was picking out a suit for the event. He could be so vain at times. Then again, Luke wasn't much better.

It was quiet. I could feel the silence ebbing throughout the room and my body. Sitting, perfectly still, I listened to it. For a moment, I was at peace. But then, my thoughts started racing. The past rang in my ears. Its hurt and betrayal ran through my veins in place of the missing blood.

That was one of the things I hated about being alone now a days. My brain never just left me alone. Never.

I figured I must be a masochist. That would be the only explanation as to why I torture myself like this.

Luckily, I was then summoned to Aro's office. "Hello, Jera," he said to me in his eerie voice.

"What did you want?" I asked, trying to match his tone. I never felt comfortable around him. Maybe it was our little history that made me not like him so much.

It was silent for a moment. "I hear you are going to visit Carlisle and your old clan."

"Yes," I confirmed. He already knew this. What did he really want?

He nodded slowly. "Yes…and you're team is coming with?"

"Yes," I responded once more.

"I trust things will go smoothly." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. An order. It actually kind of sounded like he trusted me. I inwardly grinned. "You will have a mission when you come back. Will your team be ready?"

"Of course."

"Curious about the mission?" An unsettling smile played on his face.

"I just hope it's challenging," I answered, not wanting him to think he could hold things over my head.

Aro's smile widened. "I'm sure it will be, especially for _you._" I waited for him to explain himself, but he didn't. "You may go now." Nodding, I turned to leave.

I clenched my teeth, frustrated. What had he meant? Whenever Aro was smiling it couldn't be a good thing. What did he mean? What did he mean? What did he mean?

He had done this on purpose. Of course I knew it, but of course his voice still echoed through my head. Sighing, I shook my head. It was probably a red herring. He probably just wanted me to think that he was alluding to something that wasn't there.

But still, it was pissing me off.


	4. Chapter 4

"I hate flying," Rita whined as we exited the plane. 

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You were the one who wanted to come. Did you expect us to swim or something? Besides," I added. "You can't be motion sick."

"It's not that! I didn't enjoy the plane. It was gross!"

"Can somebody say 'high maintenance'?" Connor scoffed.

"What?" she asked twirling her blond wavy hair around a finger.

Luke laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist. "That was first class, Rita."

She crinkled her dainty nose. "I don't like it. Is there anything better than that?"

"Private jet?" I offered.

"Sounds good. Those ought to be clean, right?" Luke and I chuckled at our new friend. She was definitely a much needed breath of fresh air.

Rita continued to look around the airport, amazed. "I don't think I've ever been to the US."

"It's kind of different than places in Europe," Luke informed her.

She excitedly grinned. "This will be fun!"

"Can we go now, Captain?" Connor asked irritably.

I frowned at his little nick name for me. He could be so terribly annoying. And yet, I noticed Rita pining for him. I couldn't help but snicker at the thought of the two together. They were complete opposites. "Yeah, yeah. We're going. Please, try to control your excitement," I replied sarcastically.

"So is skipping out of the question?" he shot back.

"Unfortunately."

Soon, we were outside. It was a blustery day in Chicago. The clouds were a dark purple and threatened to burst at any moment. I smiled; we couldn't have come at a better time. We found the limo that we had hired to take us to the Cullen's house.

Rita was fascinated by every little aspect of the vehicle. She fiddled with anything she could. "My God," Connor said, exasperated with her. "Where the hell have you been stationed?"

"India," she replied simply.

"Seriously?" His interest had been peaked by this. "Which city were you in?" And like that, the two instantly became chatty.

I sighed, happy to be done with Connor's complaining. It's all I had heard on the long trip to the States. I curled up next to Luke who wrapped his arm around me, holding me closer to him. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder. Soon, our breathing was in sync.

A little while later, the limo slowed to a halt. I looked out the tainted windows and saw the view of the grand white house where the Cullen's resided. I knew that if there hadn't been a human driving us, Alice would've already greeted us. Instead, I saw her small face poke out of the house and she sprinted at a very fast pace for a human to greet us.

By the time we had all gotten out of the car, Alice was insisting to the driver that she didn't need help as she collected our luggage. My team and I watched in amusement as the event unfolded.

"Ma'am, please don't worry about it. I've got it."

"Don't try to help me!" she snapped. "My friend is here and I can do this myself!"

The driver rubbed the back of his head. "But that's a lot of suitcases…"

"If I pay you one hundred dollars will you shut up?" I had to hold back a laugh. It appeared that Alice wasn't in the best of moods, but didn't want to spoil my arrival.

"Jera!" a little voice came from behind me. I turned around to see Gabriel running towards me.

I rushed to him and gave him a hug. "Gabe!"

"I missed you so much. Why did you go?" Even though he was wise beyond his years, he was still a little boy at heart. I felt so bad for leaving him at times.

"I just had to go."

We pulled away. He was frowning, not happy with my response. "You went to the Volturi," he accused. "After what they've done."

I grimaced at his charge. "Hey, Gabe, want to meet my friends?" I asked, presenting them to him.

He looked up at them, his eyes narrow. "I don't like him," he proclaimed pointing at Connor.

"Me?" Connor cried indignantly. "I've never met this kid before."

Grinning, I responded quietly, "He's a telepath... I can only imagine what you were thinking."

"I resent that!"

"Of course you do. Gabe, this is Connor, Rita, and Luke…my mate," I introduced them to my little friend.

Blinking, he turned his gaze towards me. "What happened to Jacob?" I flinched. None of the people on my team knew about Jacob. And Bethany and Anthony both had put up mental blocks for privacy, so I guess Gabriel never learned of what happened. I could feel Luke's look boring a whole through me. Stupid child honesty.

"That was a long time ago," I responded quietly.

"Look whose back," Emmett boomed, rescuing me from the awkward situation. "I thought we had gotten rid of you." He enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug.

"Good to see you too."

The limo driver pulled away, and Alice glared at him as he drove off into the distance. "She and Jasper are having a fight about how addicted she is to this wedding," he murmured into my ear answering my silent question.

That sure explained a lot. The small vampire came bounding up to me. "Jera!" she squealed. "You made it! You're here! This is so great!"

Fat drops of water began to fall onto our skin. "We should go inside," I told her. She nodded as a lod crack of thunder came out.

"Sounds like we might be able play some baseball," Emmett said, rubbing his hands together with a pleased grin on his face.

Luke seemed satisfied too. Thunderstorms allowed him to play with lightening, his favorite thing. I'm pretty sure he likes it more than me. I rolled my eyes as we gathered our stuff and headed towards the house. For the first time, I really felt at home again.


	5. Chapter 5

I was almost knocked over as Bella tackled me with a hug. "You're here!" she exclaimed, starry-eyed. "I'm getting married, Jer!"

Laughing, I ignored the terrible feeling in my stomach that I got from the word. "I know; I got your invitation."

"I'm getting married to Edward!"

I looked at her funny. "I thought you were marrying Emmett." I heard Rosalie scoff at this, even though I'm just kidding.

Bella shook her head violently. "Rosalie's married to Emmett, remember?! I'm the one with Edward! Jeez, you have been away too long."

Once again, I stared at her incredulously. She didn't think I was joking around. "I know, Bella…it's a joke." I turned to Edward who was currently rolling his eyes. "What's with her?"

"I think she's a little nervous…" He sighed. "She'll beg for eternal damnation, but bring up marriage and she gets cold feet." Edward then smiled. "Good to have you back." Bella had let go of me so I was able to give him a hug.

"Not mad at me?" I asked him.

"When am I ever mad at you?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Maybe Bella's not the only one who needs to be medicated." I looked around the room. "Where are Jasper, Bethany, and Anthony?"

"Uh…well Alice kind of scared off Jasper…so…they're trying to find him." I looked at him quizzically. "She threatened to keep the shopping network on constantly."

"Oh." That was the only explanation I needed. The vampire that could fight in the Civil War ran in fear of Alice's shopping habits. That sounded about right.

A second later, I was once again mauled. This time it was by Bethany. "YOU LEFT ME AGAIN!" she accused.

"I'm sorry!" I said helplessly while laughing.

"I believe some introductions are in order," Carlisle interjected. I was so grateful. Bethany detached herself from me. The Cullen's and my family took spots on the couches and chairs, leaving my team and me the only ones standing. I saw Jasper, cowering on the other side of the room from Alice who was glaring at him.

Carlisle gave me a nod to let me know that I could begin. "Uh…well as you all know, I've been off with the Volturi. And uh… this is my team," I said awkwardly, displaying my teammates. "Connor, Rita, and Luke," I continued, directing to each individual. I surveyed the large group of vampires before me. "You guys," I said turning to my team. "This is…Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Bella, Edward, Gabe, Anthony, Bethany, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper," I listed, going around the room.

"How the bloody hell am I supposed to remember all that?" Connor sneered. Rita covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"You have too many friends," Luke muttered jokingly to me.

"Sorry," I hissed back.

I then noticed, Alice fluttering by Rita. "Where'd you get those?" she cooed, pointing to Rita's shoes.

"I made them," she responded proudly. "I'm a shape-shifter."

Alice's eyes were as big as saucers. "That is so cool." She turned to me. "Jera, can everyone on your team do something?"

I nodded. "Connor, fire. Luke, lightening."

Eventually, everyone diffused throughout the house, excitedly chatting to everyone. However, I could still feel the tension. The people that I had left behind were meeting the new people in my life. It was so incredibly awkward. I could also still feel Luke's gaze. He wanted to know about 

Jacob, I knew it. I could also feel the other's staring at me when they found about my relationship with Luke. I wanted to slam my head into a mound of marble.

"Is there going to be a rehearsal dinner?" I muttered fearfully to Bella. The thought of eating made me want to puke. Well…if I did end up eating, I would have to puke.

She shook her head, vehemently. "My mother and Seth are flying in tomorrow, so they won't know if we had a rehearsal dinner or not."

I nodded, relieved. "Thank goodness. Is there going to be a reception?"

"A small one here…but that's all." Bella had definitely seemed to cool off since my arrival. It fell silent between us two. I automatically knew what she was thinking about. I sighed, wondering how much damage I could inflict on myself if I jumped off the Sears Tower.

--

Later that night, not surprisingly, Connor was whining about being thirsty. "Come on!" he begged me, following me through the house. "Let's go hunting!"

"We can't go hunting here!"

"But I'm thirsty! So is Rita! I bet Luke is thirsty too!"

I rolled my eyes. "I told you! You should have gotten your fill back in Italy! We can't go hunting humans around here!"

"But I think I might accidently kill a wedding guest!" He had me there. Yes, his eyes were still a deep blood red, but I didn't want a massacre. Then, I got a notion. I smiled inwardly to myself.

"Okay, you're right. Get the team together, we're going hunting."

He grinned devilishly. "I knew you'd see it my way."

A few minutes later, we were hiking through the woods. "Do people hike in these woods often?" Rita asked hopefully.

I didn't respond; I was trying to keep my ears open. Then, I heard something: a rustle in the bushes. I inhaled the air deeply. It was unmistakable. A rabbit. I haven't had one of these in a while. I targeted its location and brought it up with my telekinesis until it rested in the palms of my hands.

Rita looked at me funny. "Looking for a pet, Jer?"

Smiling innocently, I responded. "No, but you were looking for a meal." I handed her the rabbit.

She looked down at the furry creature, wide-eyed. "You want me to kill a bunny?!" she squealed. "That's terrible!"

"You kill humans for meals. What's the difference?"

"What?" Connor asked, enraged. "You want us to eat animals?"

"_You _guys were the ones who wanted to hunt. This is how we do it around here."

In the mean time, Luke had caught on and already held an owl with a broken neck. "When in Rome," he said in response to the others' looks of mortification. Then, he plunged his mouth into the bird's neck.

Rita whimpered slightly. "You don't have to do it," I told her gently. "But if you're thirsty, this will have to suffice."

She handed the bunny to Connor. "I'm not _that_ thirsty. I'll be fine tomorrow." With that, she took off, dashing in the direction of the house.

There was a snap of bones. I looked at the Irish man who had begun to feast upon the small animal. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "How am I supposed to be fine with this little thing?"

I shrugged. "I could show you where the deer are."

--

After we had finished hunting, Luke and I made our way up to the guest room provided for us. Silently, we lied on the bed together. I knew what he was thinking but didn't want to bring it up.

I pushed back a stray strand of his brown hair, looking into his now topaz colored eyes. "You look very cute with your eyes like that," I murmured absent-mindedly.

"Don't get used to it," he said with a laugh. "Human blood is ten times better. I don't know how you went so long on just animals."

Shrugging, I smiled. "Well, that obviously didn't last it was just a phase."

_Just a phase,_ I reminded myself, getting lost in my own thoughts. I then noticed his stare. "Sorry," I muttered, knowing he was wondering what I was thinking.

We both fell back into the quietness that had surrounded us on moments earlier. I rest in his cold, hard arms. Inconspicuously, I rested my ear against his chest to listen for even the faintest amount of heartbeat. But I knew it wasn't there. It hadn't been there in a long time. It was gone.

Stopped.


	6. Chapter 6

"Who was Gabriel referring to earlier?" he finally asked. His voice was harsher than usual. "Jared? Or something," Luke said the last bit more silently.

"It was Jacob," I responded, hoping my voice didn't betray me. "It was honestly nothing. Just a human, is all." Turning back to him, I smiled. "A passing ship. Nothing like what we have."

At least, that's what I've been trying to tell myself for the longest time.

It was the day of the wedding. Alice had demanded that we work at a human pace while getting ready and helping Bella get ready for the ceremony. She claimed it would be suspicious if we arrived a little before the wedding not dressed and then miraculously appeared a few minutes later all ready.

When I finally saw the dress in the chapel's dressing room, –which Alice had fluttered about complimenting disdainfully about the décor- I had to give Alice her props for picking a beautiful (and probably expensive) dress without being ostentatious. The dress was strapless in a white very close to Bella's skin tone. The bodice was covered in delicate yet intricate beading. Its soft satin swished ever so softly every time the bride walked.

Alice was busy grunting commands at Rosalie while she worked diligently on fashioning Bella's gorgeous brown hair into an elegant up-do. I sat off to the side, holding her tiara until Alice came to relieve me of it. In the mean time, I watched this entire process wishing it could be me.

Suddenly, a scent caught my nose. I was alerted by this, knowing that smell anywhere. My head snapped towards the other girls. "Do you smell that?" I asked, but I couldn't seem to catch the scent again.

"What are you talking about, Jera?" Alice asked irritably. I was starting to wonder if she was the one getting married and not Bella.

"I thought I…" I trailed off, no longer sure. I saw the bride staring at me empathetically. What did she know? Did she know? Oh God, she knows. _She knows._ "Jacob," I growled resolutely. "Were you planning on telling me this little detail?"

Alice looked back at me and grinned sheepishly. From Rosalie's expression I could tell that she did not want anything to do with this. "He's my best friend," Bella said. I was a tad bit surprised that she was the one to talk and not Alice.

"And my ex."

"It's my wedding," she said dangerously low.

I stopped. She was right. This was her wedding. She could invite whomever she wanted. I had to deal with that. All I had to do was be civil. I put on a bright smile. "Are you ready for the tiara 

yet?" I asked Alice sweetly. They all stared at me confused by my sudden change of behavior, but then realized that it was probably best if this conversation was dropped.

--

In the procession, I walked with Anthony. We were the last two to go out before Bella. He glanced worriedly at me, expecting me to say something. But I wasn't going to.

It was our time to go out and we made our way through the small church. The clicking of my heels was covered up by the loud organ. It was a small crowd. On Edward's side, there was my team along with Carlisle and Esme. There was a slightly larger amount on Bella's side. This included her mother and stepfather –Charlie would be joining them after he had given Bella away- as well as Bethany and Gabe and…him.

I clenched my jaw tightly as we walked past him. I could feel his all too familiar gaze upon me. My entire body was filled with so many emotions that I can't even describe them all. I could also feel the hate being thrown at Jacob by my team. This was going to be bad.

We all watched as Bella came down the aisle in all her glory. Her eyes were the old brown they used to be before she was changed for the sake of pretense for her mother and stepfather. Her eyes were light and pinned on Edward. It was spectacular.

And the entire time I could feel him watching me.

I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to run to him and tell him that I was sorry. Yet, I didn't do any of these things. It was Bella's day and she deserved it every bit.

Time moved slower than usual. The unevenness of the still active hearts in the church was annoying me more than normal. I could tell which one was his, the one that I had listened to for many years. It hurt that it still continued even with me gone.

_Why do I care?_ I asked myself. I needed to stop caring. I was making myself sick, if that was even at all possible.

But I couldn't stop caring. And soon all of my senses were exemplified to almost the point of unbearable. Every smell hit me ten fold. Any movement, no matter how small went detected by me. I could feel all the emotions of everyone –I was pretty sure it was similar to what Jasper was accustomed to.

Something clicked in my head. Voices filled my head. I clamped my eyes shut, trying to control it all. What was happening? Why was this coming back now? Soon, all the thoughts emptied out of my head except…Jacob's.


End file.
